PixlBit

BOO!  Happy Halloween!  I’ve got a few spooky themed game reviews I’ve recently posted at GamerDad.com!  And some not so spooky ones as well.  Please click on the links and read as many as you can, and maybe even post a like or comment or two.  I’d really appreciate it.  Read on…if you dare!

LEGO Dimensions Beetlejuice Fun Pack

I watched the Beetlejuice movie a couple of times as a kid.  And I remember the Saturday morning cartoon as well (yes there was a Beetlejuice cartoon).  I remember the cartoon being of higher quality than most other ones at the time, and I think it even won an Emmy.  Even so, I never really got into the franchise that much.  So my memory of it wasn’t fresh on my mind when I wrote this review.  But it sure was popular when I was younger!

Mystik Belle (PS4)

I originally wasn’t going to post this before Halloween, but it fits the themes so well that I bumped it up a bit.  You play as Belle, a first-year witch student at Hagmore Academy, and you are blamed for spilling a special witch’s brew even though you didn’t do it.  So now as punishment you must gather the brew ingredients again and find out who did it in the first place.  The game plays like a cross between a Metroid title and a point and click adventure.  It has a 16-bit retro feel that reminds me of something you would’ve seen on the GBA.  Goals and objectives are oftentimes unclear, play control is a little sluggish at times, and it’s a bit short, but I still played it all the way through and got all but one of the trophies, so it must not be THAT bad.  WayForward published the console versions of this title.  They didn’t make it, but it looks like something WayForward would do.  Also, people who like Harry Potter and anime like Little Witch Academia would enjoy this as well.

LEGO Dimensions The PowerPuff Girls Team Pack & Fun Pack

I enjoyed the original PowerPuff Girls cartoon back in the day, so I was interested in this LEGO Dimensions set.  Unfortunately it’s mostly based on the new PowerPuff Girls cartoon, which isn’t near as good.  In the comments section, if you liked the PowerPuff Girls cartoon, tell me your favorite episodes.  I liked the one where they try to be other comic book heroes, the one where they try to keep Lucky Captain Rabbit King from eating their cereal, and the one where they each tell the mayor what happened from their point of view.

LEGO Dimensions Teen Titans Go! Team Pack & Fun Pack

I never was a big fan of the original Teen Titans, and I don’t like the new one either.  Although the new one did have an episode where they made fun of video games, even Spy Hunter, and another one where they made fun of DuckTales, so that was surprising.  The LEGO Dimensions packs have a special episode of the cartoon you can watch in the game that explains how they got into the LEGO universe in the first place, and it’s kind of cute, though.

The LEGO Ninjago Movie Video Game (PS4)

When they sent me this game, they sent me a ton of goodies to go along with it, too.  I haven’t gotten this much swag since my days at The Dallas Morning News!  I gave most of the stuff to a little boy my family knows who loves LEGOs a lot.  He and his parents even spent a whole week at the LEGOLAND theme park and didn’t even go to Disney World!  Originally I wasn’t planning on seeing the movie, and just winging it when I wrote the game review.  But the LEGO folks also gave me a gift certificate to a movie theater so I kind of felt obligated then to see it, so I did.  The movie and game are OK.  I think they got their B-team to work on the game, but if you enjoy the Ninjago franchise, you’ll enjoy this, too.  And since LEGOs are just toys anyway, if they want to make one of their movies geared towards just kids, I’m fine with that.

Ninja Surfer (iPad)

And speaking of ninjas, this mobile game has you playing a ninja surfing on a missile in space.  Sounds like an idea for a doodle on a bored schoolkid’s notebook.  The game is very amateurish and not very good, though.

Bowser’s Minions amiibo

My newest amiibo acquisitions include a Goomba and Koopa Troopa from the Mario series.  You’d think they would’ve released these sooner, but I think they had them to be out to coincide with the release date of the Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga remake.  Nothing too special about these, but they are cute.

Drive Girls (Vita)

Aksys likes to send me codes for games without me even asking for them, so that’s how I got this.  It’s a typical 3-D hack and slash game with fanservice-y anime girls, but these girls can also turn into race cars somehow, so that bit of weirdness had me intrigued enough to play it.

Splasher (PS4)

The PR folks touted it as “Mario meets Splatoon” but it’s not really much like either.  It is a 2-D platformer and you can spray ink and water on surfaces.  Some ink lets you bounce high in the air or climb on walls and ceilings.  Kind of reminds me of the ink puzzles from Portal 2.  But it’s also one of those tough as nails Super Meat Boy style platformers and I don’t care much for those.  Plus the floaty controls didn’t help much either.

Ink (PS4)

One more ink related game, but this one’s a bit more simplistic.  You are a square and your playfield is nothing but black.  But every time you jump and land, you splurt out ink, and then you can tell where you can go by the ink splashes.  Neat concept, but again, slippery controls make it harder than what it needs to be.

And that’s all for now!  You folks have a safe and happy Halloween!  Thanks for reading my reviews and posting likes and comments!  I really appreciate it!  Later!  --Cary